Machine for making wire nails



(No Model.)

J. T. KENNEDY.

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE NAILS.

No. 339,901. Patented Apr. 13, 1886.

JOE W 011 44281X Nv PETERS. Phoin-umo n lmr, WasMnglom D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. KENNEDY, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

MACHINE FOR MAKING WIRE NAILS.

BPECEEEGATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 339,901, dated April 13, 1886.

Application filed February 8, 1886. Serial No.191,1-l5. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. KENNEDY, of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Machines for Making Headed WVire Nails and like Articles; and I do hereby declare the following, when taken in connection with accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,

and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a top or plan view of a machine adapted to carry out my invention; Fig. 2, a longitudinal sectional side view of the same; Fig. 3, atransverse section looking toward the slides K L; Figs. 4 and 5, partial top views illustrating the operation of the machine. Figs. 6 and 7 show cutting devices to adapt the invention to the making of wire nails.

This invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of that class of articles which are produced from wire upset at one end to form a head, such as nails, rivets, screwblanks, &c.

In machines for heading such articles as heretofore constructed a single run of wire has been supplied to the machine to be fed a given length for the article to be produced, the length supported in dies, and headed by a punch coming against the end of the wire to upset the wire onto the face of the die and form the head.

The object of my invention is to facilitate or increase the capacity of each machine, whereby a single machine will perform the work of several such machines, and thereby not only economizing in cost of machinery, but in space, and to a very considerable extent in power; and the invention consists in combining a feed adapted to deliver several parallel runs of wire, a corresponding series of dies adapted to hold the said runs of wire as they pass into the machine in their .proper position for heading, with a corresponding series of heading-punches adapted to be forced upon the several projecting ends of wire, and thereby simultaneously upset the several projecting ends, and the thus'headed portions separated from the runs of wire produce, by a single operation, a number of such headed articles corresponding to the number of lines of wire introduced to the machine.

In illustrating my invention I show a machine similar to common heading or rivetmakingmachines.

A represents the frame, at one end of which is the driving-shaft B, supported in suitable bearings, C C, and to which power is applied to impart revolution to the shaft through a pulley, D, or otherwise.

E is a slide arranged in guides F in the frame so as to move longitudinally in the guides backward and forward. The advance or forward movement is imparted to the slide by means of a cam, G, on the driving-shaft, and the return of the slide produced by a spring, H, or otherwise. I

At the opposite end of the machine the wirefeeding device is arranged, which consists of a pair of vertical rollers, I I, to which a constant rotation is imparted by means of the pulley shown, or otherwise, the rollers being geared together so that the rotation of the two is alike, and the position of the rolls with re lation to each other is such that the wires in troduced between them will receive a longitudinal movement under the rotation of the rollers. The length or height of the rolls is such as to permit several runs of wire to be run and fed between them. I represent five such Wires, as seen in Fig. 2.

In the frame, inside the feeding device, is a die-plate, J, through which apertures are made corresponding to the several wires, the plane of the apertures being in a plane between the two rollers, and so that the wires passing from the feed-rollers may readily; enter and pass through the die-plate J.

Directly inside the die-plate J, and working in a plane transversely across the inner face of the said die-plate J, are two slides, K L. A transverse reciprocating movement is impart ed to the said slide K by a cam, N, on a counter-shaft, O, which receives rotation from a bevel-pinion on the driving-shaft, and a like reciprocating movement is imparted to the slide L by a cam, I, on a counter-shaft, R, on the opposite side of the machine, inlike manner receiving rotation from a bevel-pinion on the driving-shaft. The cams force the slides inward, while springs S draw them outward. The adjacent faces of the two slides K L are each provided with cavities corresponding to one-half the wire, as seen in Fig. 3, and in line with the several apertures through the dieplate J, as seen in that figure. The slide E carries at its end next the slides K L a series of heading-punches, a, corresponding to the several wires in the series. The several wires, under the constant revolution of the feed-rolls, are fed through the die-plate J until stopped by the several punches or other stop provided for that purpose. The friction of the feedrollers upon the wireis such that while they impart an advancing movement to the several wires the rollers will slip upon thewvires as soon as they are arrested; hence the several wires are sure to feed the requisite length, the stop being arranged at such point as to give that requisite length. The constantlyrevolving rollers as a feeding device are not new, such being common in many classes of machines for working wire. The wires thus fed forward through the die-plate J project between and beyond the side of the two slides K L, as seen in Fig. 2, and at the proper time under the action of the respective cams N P the two slides come together and grasp the projecting portion of the wire, as indicated in Fig. 4, and then, moving together to one side, as seen in Fig. 5, cut off the projecting portion of the wire flush with the face of the die-plate J, and while still holding the blank the punches advance, as seen in Fig. 5, and upset the wire thus held by the slides to form the head. Then the punches retreat, the slides return, and the series of beaded blanks or articles drop from the machine. So soon as theslides arrive at a position-say as seen in Fig. 3to uncover the face of the die-plate J, the wires are again advanced, cut off, and headed, as before. Thus in a single operati0n,with, say, five runs of wire, five blanks or articles are headed simultaneously and in the same time which it would require to head but one blank or article in the usual apparatus. This illustration would produce what are commonly called.

rivets complete or screw-blanks to be subsequently threaded. The same combination of feeding device for a series of wires with the series of heading devices may be employed in the manufacture of the-various articles of this character commonly headed by machinery, and the apparatus may be employed in making wire nails, the slides carrying aseries of cutters, as indicated in Fig. 6,.each cutter corv responding to the shape of the point of the nail to be cut. In this case the heading will be first formed against the die-plate J, that plate adapted to grasp the wires, as seen in Fig. 6, so as to hold them firmly when the wire has been advanced sufficiently far to form the head. Then after the head has been thus formed the heading-punches retreat, as seen in Fig. 7, the wires advancing, the punches stopping at the required length with relation to the pointing-cutters. Then the cutters advance and cut the wire so asto form the point, as indicated in Fig. 7.

The illustrations which I have made are sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to apply it to the formation of the various headed articles to which it is adapted.

It will be understood that any of the known wire-feeding devices may be substituted for the well-known feeding device which I have illustrated. My invention is not to Delimited to the particular feeding mechanism shown.

I claim- In a machine for making headed wire rivets and like articles, consisting in the combination of a feeding device adapted to receive and advance several lines of wire parallel with each other, a die-plate having a series of openings through it corresponding to the said series of wires and in line therewith, a reciprocating slide carrying a series of heading punches corresponding to the said series of wires, and a series of cutters corresponding to said wires, substantially as described, and whereby a series of bianks are cut from the said wires and headed in a single apparatus.

JOHN T. KENNEDY.

\Vi t n esses:

FRED 0-. EARLE, LILLIAN D. KELsEY. 

